- First published
- 1970
- Editions
- 2 editions
- Status
- In print
The Whingdingdilly
A farm dog named Scamp, envious of the family horse, wishes to be something more spectacular, and a witch named Zildy obliges, transforming him into the extraordinary Whingdingdilly: a magnificent patchwork creature with parts from a rhino, giraffe, elephant, camel, zebra, reindeer, and dog.
Scamp was sure he was the most unnoticed, unappreciated, ordinary-looking dog in the whole wide world. He was sure life would be a lot more exciting if only he were something other than a dog.
"The Whingdingdilly came out of a guessing game when I visited schools years ago to talk with the kids and draw pictures for them. I made animal drawings on an over-sized sketch pad so everyone could watch, and as soon as I started a drawing the kids all tried to guess what it might be. I liked to keep them guessing as long as possible and put off drawing the most recognizable parts of the animal until the last minute. But I could never fool them for long, especially when it came to elephants. Even if I avoided the trunk and ears and started with a foot and a few toe nails someone in the group would whisper, 'Elephant' and the word was out...
Being a poor loser, I finally resorted to trickery... I designed a combination rhino, giraffe, elephant, camel, zebra, reindeer, and last but not least, one part dog. For as it turns out the dog is the most important part of the 'thing' since the story is about an old farm dog named 'Scamp'." (Bill Peet)
From the book
Preliminary sketches
